Legislative committee for ‘Forever Canadian’ accused of deliberate delays

Posted on April 30, 2026 by Vauxhall Advance

By Zoe Mason
Southern Alberta Newspapers

The legislative committee called to determine the future of the Forever Canadian citizen initiative has refused to commit to hearing its proponent, or guaranteeing results during this legislative session.

The committee held its first meeting on April 21. In a statement shared to his social media, petition proponent Thomas Lukaszuk says the UCP-led committee refused to commit to allowing him to appear.

In response to a question about whether she would like to see Lukaszuk appear in front of the committee at an unrelated press conference in March, Premier Danielle Smith said next steps for the Forever Canadian petition were complicated and further clarification was needed from Lukaszuk.

“I think we have to hear from Mr. Lukaszuk about whether he wants his question on the ballot,” the premier said. “He said yes, no, then yes. So I don’t know where he’s at on that. That might be a factor the committee has to consider as well.”

Chair of the legislative committee and UCP MLA Brandon Lunty said in a statement to Southern Alberta Newspapers that no one is being prioritized or excluded from having a hearing with the committee at this stage.

“Mr. Lukaszuk is one of many stakeholders in this process, and the committee is taking a structured approach to deciding who will appear and when. At this stage, the committee is still receiving technical briefings, so it would be premature to make decisions about specific witnesses,” he said in a statement to Southern Alberta Newspapers.

The committee also voted down a motion asking it to complete its work by May 7.

The first meeting of the committee comes nearly five months after the petition triggered a legislative committee review after amassing more than 438,000 signatures.

The opposition NDP are accusing the UCP government of deliberately delaying the committee’s work, which may have the result of postponing results from the committee until after a potential separation referendum in October.

If the committee does not wrap up work by the end of the spring sitting of the legislature, it will be carried over to the fall sitting, which does not begin until November.

The committee is required to return results to the legislature within 90 sitting days. The present sitting is expected to wrap May 14.

NDP MLA for Edmonton-Whitemud and committee member Rakhi Pancholi says more than 1,100 emails have been received asking the premier and MLAs to ensure work is completed by May 7.

“If these delays continue, the voices of half a million Albertans who signed the Forever Canada petition are effectively ignored until after a vote on the separatism issue,” she said.

Lunty would not commit to the work concluding by the session’s end when asked by Southern Alberta Newspapers.

“This committee is the first of its kind in Alberta, and people across the province expect its work to be handled carefully, thoughtfully, and transparently at every step. With more than 400,000 Albertans having signed this petition, it’s important that the proposal receives serious and respectful consideration,” said Lunty.

“The committee is approaching this work with an open mind and isn’t making any assumptions about outcomes or participants.”

Successful citizen initiatives are required to either advance to referendum or advance as a policy proposal to be voted on by MLAs.

Lukaszuk previously expressed his preference for the matter to be settled by a vote, but has since said he is prepared for the question to go to referendum if necessary.